Hi, my name is Kerry Kriger. My main instrument is bansuri (bamboo flute from northern India). I study North Indian Classical music with one of India's greatest flute masters, Pandit Vijay Raghav Rao. I also play the darabuka (Middle Eastern drum) and tabla (Indian drum), and have been known to mess around with the recorder, glockenspiel and guitar. On top of playing pure Indian classical music, I like to experiment blending Indian scales and rhythms with western instruments (i.e. electric guitar and drumset) for a sort of Indian/Rock fusion. 'If it sounds good, it's music.'
Some photos...
Sunset flute jam in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea:
Jammin on top of Mt. Gower, Lord Howe Island, Australia, overlooking the world's most southerly coral reef.
Going up Mt. Roraima (which has some of the best acoustics on the planet), just this side of the Brazil/Guyana/Venezuela border:
Another day in Costa Rica:
A fantastic day on the South Sister, central Oregon:
No sellouts here...the 2300yr old Grand Ampitheatre of Ephesus in Turkey:
Throwin down at Selfoss, Jökulsárgljúfur National Park, Iceland
A smoking crater jam on top of Mt. Ngaurahoe, New Zealand:
Brewin up a storm on the Little Devil's Tower in the magnificent Black Hills of South Dakota:
New Year's Day jam in the boiling mud pits of Uyuni, Bolivia:
Sunset flute jam looking out at Kuanidup Chico (that island I had to myself for 3 nights), San Blas Archipelago, home of the Kuna Indians, Panama:
Jamming, Miami Beach style:
Passing time at the Dasaswamedh gat in Varanasi, India:
No escape from the paparazzi:
Here's a short video of me and my brother at the Aspendos ruins in southern Turkey...
Here's a sunset drum jam at Cabo Matapalo, Costa Rica:
Drumming for Obama - Part 1:
I'm also an ecologist, and am the Executive Director of SAVE THE FROGS! , a nonprofit organization dedicated to amphibian conservation. Please check out our web site www.savethefrogs.com and my other Myspace page www.savethefrogsnonprofit .SAVE THE FROGS!
Got 99 cents?
These are all traditional Indian melodies, though some of them are presented in non-traditional ways. Here's some info on each track:
1) Bhairavi: One of the most popular Indian melodies. This features me on flute and some intricate electric guitar work by Travis Jenkins. Chrispy Lait delivers some solid rhythmic support on the djembe. Bhairavi is traditionally played in the morning. Track length: 7:02.
2) Simendra Madhyam: This melody uses one of the primary scales employed by the snake-charmers, so it's got some serious middle eastern groove to it. Great electric guitar by Trav, and Chrispy bringing in the djembe. With me on the flute. Track length: 6:27.
3) Amrit Varshni: Black Sabbath meets the caravanserai rolling through the desert. You won't hear music like this anywhere else! Trav on guitar and Chrispy on the djembe, me on the flute. Track length: 7:18.
4) Bhoopali: One of the five oldest Indian melodies, possibly 4,000 yrs old. A very mellow tune played in the evening and meant to calm you down. Nice use of harmonics by Trav on the guitar. Me on flute and Chrispy on the djembe. Track length: 5:55.
5) Chandrakauns: This one is presented in the classical North Indian style. Chandrakauns is played during the full moon. This is me on flute and Marcelo on santoor (a hammered dulcimer). No drums, very very mellow. This is alap, no composition. Recorded live at Luz de Luna in Buenos Aires. Track length: 8:35.
6) Hansadhwani: This one is presented in the classical North Indian style. An upbeat evening melody, I recorded this in Buenos Aires with Rasikananda Das, an excellent tabla player. Track length: 11:02.
7) Simendra Madhyam (revisited): Same melody as above, but different arrangement. This has Trav leading the way with some excellent guitarwork, and me and Chrispy on the drums (darabuka and djembe). Track length: 6:22.
All these mp3's are encoded at 192kbps (that's high quality).
When I'm not playing music, I can sometimes be found playing with fire:
Or crocs:
Or turtles:
Or three-toed sloths (Alter do Chau, Brazil):
Or koalas:
Or worms:
Or frogs:
